Christina Villacorte

Staff Writer

Recent articles

Prison overcrowding

Sheriff’s Capt. Daniel Dyer, commanding officer of the downtown Men’s Central Jail, couldn’t help but grimace during a recent inspection of Dorm 9500.More than 200 low-security inmates were crammed inside the room, every now and then tripping over each other’s bunks spaced a foot apart.The space was not originally intended to serve as living quarters, so toilets were an afterthought, installed haphazardly in the middle of a row of bunks in the 1980s.

Fatherhood

Stricken with a rare genetic disorder, 6-year-old Gwendolyn Strong has never been able to speak and can’t even breathe on her own — but she is determined to sing for her daddy today, Father’s Day.Bill Strong, 37, hummed “The Muppet Show Theme,” pausing after a verse to let Gwendolyn pick up the melody. For a moment, the only sound is that of her ventilator, but then Gwendolyn started to tease a tune out of a series of grunts, whimpers and squeals.

Arts and antiques auction houses

CALABASAS >> From Beethoven to Al Capone, the auction house Profiles in History is offering up a treasure trove of documents and artifacts from a vast array of historical figures next Friday that collectively could fetch in the millions.There’s the red, white and blue rotary telephone that President John F.

Coping with grief

Still reeling from a murderous rampage that left six of its students dead and several others injured, UC Santa Barbara will hold a day of mourning and reflection Tuesday canceling classes in favor of a memorial service. “We will remember and honor the victims of this horrible event and come together as an academic community to reflect, talk with each other, and think about the future,” UCSB Chancellor Henry Yang and interim executive vice chancellor Joel Michaelsen wrote...

Shootings

SANTA BARBARA >> A Westlake Village woman has been identified as one of the six victims killed in Friday’s shooting rampage near UC Santa Barbara.Santa Barbara County Sheriff-Coroner Bill Brown identified her as Veronika Elizabeth Weiss, 19, a student of UC Santa Barbara.Brown said the homicidal rampage apparently began at the residence of suspect Elliot Rodger.Authorities found three males stabbed to death there.Rodger then apparently proceeded to...

Crime

Ignoring Antelope Valley residents who traveled hundreds of miles to beg him not to release the so-called Pillowcase Rapist into their community, a Santa Clara judge on Friday did just that.Santa Clara Judge Gilbert Brown cleared Christopher Evans Hubbart, a former Claremont resident who admitted raping about 40 women between 1971 and 1982, to live at 20315 East Avenue R, near Palmdale.In his court order, the judge acknowledged receiving emails and letters, as well as several...

Correctional systems

Embarking on what could be Los Angeles County’s most expensive infrastructure project, a divided county Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to move forward with plans to tear down and replace troubled Men’s Central Jail and renovate a female detention center for at least $1.74 billion.The board has not given the green light for construction crews to start demolishing the 50-year-old jail that holds about 19,000 inmates across from Union Station. The demolition costs were...

Mass transit systems

Historic Union Station will mark its 75th anniversary Saturday — coincidentally Amtrak’s own National Train Day — with various a slate of events planned for the downtown Los Angeles venue.“This is more than just a party,” Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Marc Littman said. “We’re showcasing Union Station as the hub of L.A. County’s expanding transit system.”Metro will hold a rededication ceremony at...

Dodgers

There were fireworks, Tommy Lasorda, Magic Johnson, even Navy SEALs parachuting from an airplane onto center field. Opening Day at Dodger Stadium had everything that devoted fans wanted — except a win for the home team.The Los Angeles Dodgers lost 8-4 to their bitterest rivals, the San Francisco Giants but many in the sellout crowd of 53,493 still found something to celebrate, including watching beloved broadcaster Vin Scully throw out the first pitch to his fellow...